Background: The leaves of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Chenopodiaceae) are widely used in Moroccan traditional medicine to treat diabetes and hypertension. The goal of the present work is to investigate the hypotensive properties of different extract and fractions of the plant in anesthetized normotensive rats and to elucidate the mechanism underlying this effect.
Methods: The hypotensive effect of aqueous extract (AqE) of the leaves of C. ambrosioides L., methanolic (MF), ethyl acetate (AcF), and aqueous (AqF) Soxhlet fractions, administrated intravenously, was evaluated in anesthetized rats. The recorded signals of blood pressure and heart rate were visualized and analyzed by using an acquisition card "National Instrument" and software Labview 6.1.
Results: Intravenous administration of AqE of the leaves of C. ambrosioides L. induces a dose-dependent hypotension. A similar effect was obtained with MF, AcF, and AqF. Atropine (1 mg/kg), used to block cholinergic system, significantly reduced the hypotensive response to MF and AcF suggesting the presence of the cholinomimetic-muscarinic components in these fractions. However, the blood pressure lowering effect of MF and AcF in rats pretreated with L-NAME 20 mg/kg was unchanged showing that the release of NO is not implicated in the hypotensive action of this plant.
Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that extracts from leaves of C. ambrosioides induce hypotensive effect that may be partially associated with its cardiac effects. These results may partly explain the traditional use of leaves of C. ambrosioides L. for the treatment of disorders such as hypertension.